Wonderland Incorporated
by Kicon
Summary: Allyson Munn is perfectly ordinary. At least, that's what she thought. Then she and two hundred other girls were transported to the fantastical world of Wonderland to be possible Heirs to the Throne of Wonderland.
1. Down the Rabbit Hole

_**Wonderland Incorporated**_

Allyson Munn is perfectly ordinary. At least, that's what she thought. Then she and two hundred other girls were transported to the fantastical world of Wonderland. But all isn't as wonderful as it seems. Something is wrong with the Queen, and Allyson is the only one who can save her--and Wonderland!

* * *

**Down the Rabbit Hole | 1**

I stood in the lobby of the building, staring around at the other girls around me. They were all talking and smiling at each other. I clutched my letter in my hands and swallowed…hard.

How had this happened? Until a few hours ago, I was perfectly normal, living my life without a care in the world. Then _this_ happened and everything was ruined. I stared down at my letter with disgust:

_Dear Alyssa Munn,  
__As a daughter of Wonderland and a Possible to the Crown, you are hereby invited to a party to celebrate your (and the other daughters') acceptance as a Possible on January 1st. Please be at the Wonderland building promptly at noon. We request appropriate dress. _  
_After the Possible Party, you and the others will leave for a year to attend school in Wonderland. Please limit your things to at most two large suitcases and one valuable. Uniforms will be provided. _  
_Congratulations, Alyssa Munn. _  
_Sincerely, __Her Excellency the Duchess Danette_

It had to be some sort of a sick joke, but Deb and Gary had insisted that it was real. I refused to believe them, even though they'd never lied to me before. They never even had to lie to me as a child, because on my second birthday I looked straight at them and asked where my parents were.

It's not like I was anybody important. If I was, then my parents wouldn't have abandoned me. That's my philosophy. You're not taken care of by people if you're not important to them. And if I was important to my parents, I doubt they'd leave me under a tree in the middle of the park during a rainstorm.

So the question was who signed me up for this "Possible Party"? It certainly wasn't any of my friends, or Deb and Gary. And who in the world calls themselves "Her Excellency the Duchess Danette"?! It's ridiculous. Positively ridiculous.

Yet here I was, in the Wonderland Incorporated building that existed in the heart of San Francisco with two suitcases beside me and a letter in my hands.

A girl with red hair walked over to me. "What's your name?"

"A-Allyson Munn," I answered, looking at her. She seemed to be around thirteen, a year younger than me.

"I'm Patricia Blake," she replied. "Are you here for the Possible Party too?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Am I the only one who thinks this is a joke of some kind?" I asked, hoping to bring some humor into the matter. It didn't work.

Patricia Blake stared at me with judging brown eyes, the smile gone from her face. "You mean you seriously don't know?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

I shook my head, my face instantly turning a blotchy red, which was a cursed trait of mine.

"Ohmigod, you're kidding, aren't you?" she asked, eyeing me.

"No, I'm not," I said testily. I was seriously getting annoyed with her.

"Okay, well this is it in short: All of us here are possible princesses."

"Why does everybody keep saying the word 'possible'?" I asked angrily, not liking how it seemed that I was the only one that was out of the loop.

"Sheesh, you don't need to snap," Patricia Blake said sourly, then walked promptly away from me.

"She's a little testy," a tiny voice said from behind me. I turned and saw a girl of around twelve standing behind me. She smiled prettily, showing her perfectly white teeth. She had to be one of the cutest little girls I'd ever seen.

"I hadn't noticed," I said dryly, a grin on my face. She laughed and it sounded like little bells.

"So what's your name?" she asked.

"Allyson Munn. Yours?"

"Dinah Lee," she replied. "And don't worry about not knowing anything, it'll all be explained shortly."

"Oh. Okay." I attempted to smile again, but it didn't work.

"You're not the only one who doesn't understand," she whispered to me.

All of a sudden, the talking ceased instantly when a hideously ugly woman walked in front of all of us. She had a big, red nose and red cheeks. Her mouth was long and thin, and she was frowning. Her skin was wrinkly and her gray hair was frizzing out of her bun. She had squinty little eyes that reminded me of black beetles. Her dress seemed to be out of the Victorian-era and made of velvet.

I looked down at my green spring dress that came down to my knees. When the letter said "Uniforms will be provided," would we have to wear dresses like _that_?!

"Ahem!" she cleared her throat and tapped her staff on the ground. We all turned and looked at her.

"Now, I assume you are all here for the Possible Party. If you are not, then you must leave immediately." She tapped her staff on the ground and a few adults and little boys left.

"Alright, now to deal with the rest of you. As you may have assumed, I am Her Excellency the Duchess Danette, the personal confidant of Her Highness the Queen of Hearts and teacher to the Possibles.

"You are all from now on known as Possibles. You are not individuals, but rather part of the group. Whether you will fail or succeed depends on your ability to be part of the group.

"For those who don't know, you are called Possibles because you can possibly be chosen to be the Heir to the Crown of Wonderland. Yes, dears, Wonderland is real. Get over it." Her sharp gaze swept over the crowd of adolescent girls.

I avoided eye contact. For some reason, she gave me serious creeps.

"Mew."

I looked down and saw a small kitten staring up at me. It has soft brown eyes and fluffy brown fur. It had thick black bands encircling its body like stripes. I stiffened. The kitten mewed again and rubbed up against me, purring loudly for its size.

Suddenly, I began sneezing uncontrollably. My eyes watered and I kept on sneezing. The cat kept purring and rubbing against me. I tried kicking it away, but it dug its claws into my leg. I let out a small yelp of pain.

Then he was lifted up off of my leg and my sneezing slowed to a stop. I looked up into the beetle-like eyes of Duchess Danette.

"What is your problem, young lady?" she asked stiffly. All eyes were on me, and I could feel my face turning red. "I'm sorry, but…I'm allergic to cats," I answered.

"I can't stop sneezing when they're around me."

"So that's why you tried to kick my cat?!" she asked angrily.

I froze. Her…cat. I just tried to kick her cat.

"You insolent child! You…" She seemed about ready to hit me. The entire room was dead silent. Then Duchess Danette stared at me for a beat, calming down. "…you."

She squinted at me—even more than her eyes already were naturally—and then her eyes widened slightly.

"I see. So it's you." She sniffed snootily and turned, walking back to the front of the room. The cat looked at me and grinned.

Wait…it was actually grinning. A full blow, all teeth and gums grin. It gave me the chills.

"Now that we're all done sneezing—" She glared at me and everyone giggled. "—it's time to get on to the party!"

She pulled back a bright red curtain that revealed a wall behind it. There was nothing special about the wall. It was navy blue, just like the rest of the walls in the room. But it had a rather large, round hole in it.

"If you would please follow—" Duchess Danette stopped and looked around. She lifted up the hem of her dress and looked at the ground, but obviously didn't find anything.

"White! Get out here!" she screeched.

"I'm sorry! I'm late! I'm late! I don't have time!" A white rabbit hopped into the room, all the girls jumping out of the way. The rabbit was purely white. It was wearing a ratty red waistcoat. On the tip of its nose was a pair of tiny glasses and it had a gold pocket watch hung around its neck.

Plus, it just _talked_.

"It's about time," she hissed at it. The rabbit's ears flattened in embarrassment and it stared at the ground.

"Follow the rabbit," she said.

The rabbit turned toward the hole in the wall and touched the pocket watch to it, then jumped in.

"One at a time, come on! Those who don't follow won't ever have this chance again!"

That sounded pretty good to me. This whole business was freaking me out. Grinning kittens, ugly duchesses, and talking rabbits usually meant freaky thing would happen. But I couldn't let Deb and Gary down. They were smiling at me so hopefully when I left that I just couldn't go back now.

"Good luck," Dinah said.

It was the last thing I heard before I fell down the rabbit hole.

----

I was falling, but I wasn't screaming. It was frightening, but I wasn't scared. I felt perfectly calm as I most likely fell to my death.

The hole that I was plummeting down smelled like earth and decomposing leaves. There were all sorts of junk all over the hole. A chair was sticking out of one side; a doll was floating in the hair. I'd call it a junk hole as opposed to a rabbit hole.

I'd been falling for a long time now. I thought I would've reached the ground by now. Unless this was a dream. Of course! Of course this was a dream. Rabbits couldn't talk and holes couldn't appear in walls, so obviously all of this wasn't happening. There was just no way. My imagination was messing with me, and I would probably continue falling until my alarm clock went off.

That there was logic.

But I continued falling. This was definitely getting weird. I pinched myself, but I was still falling. I squeezed my eyes closed and opened them, but I was still falling. I slapped myself and the only result was the red handprint on my cheek.

Something was seriously wrong. I heard a scream come from below me and I became scared for the first time since Duchess Danette talked to me directly.

I then screamed too, because I could see the end of the hole. The end of the hole was a black pit, it seemed like. I was really going to die. This was the end, the final climax of my pointless life—

I was launched out of a hole next to a tree and landing with my face in the dirt. I got up, brushing the dirt and grass off of my dress and looked around. Other girls were rubbing sore spots where they'd landed and had dirt on themselves.

"You might want to move," Patricia Blake told me from where she perched on a rock.

And right as she said that, Dinah shot out of the hole and landed on top of me.

"Sorry Allyson!" she squeaked, getting off of me quickly.

"It's fine," I said, smiling. I noticed that she had light brown hair that hung in ringlets around her face.

"What's on your cheek?" I asked, squinting at the small black diamond on her cheek.

"What?" she asked. "You have something on your cheek too…"

"Quiet!" Patricia Blake snapped at us, pointing at the hole.

Duchess Danette popped out of the hole, which surprised me seeing as it was a small hole and she was a…er, rather large lady. She looked at us all and nodded in satisfaction.

"You are the first group that every daughter has passed through the hole," she said.

We all looked around at each other and smiled.

"Welcome to Wonderland!" she said, gesturing around before she checked her watch. "We seem to have made good time. Now, follow me."

She led the way, the wretched kitten of hers trotting along at her right side. It turned its head and grinned at me. I shuddered.

"Come on, Allyson," Dinah said, tugging on my hand.

"Coming," I replied, then looked around for the rabbit. I found it sulking behind the rest of the group. Telling Dinah that I'd catch up later, I walked over to it.

"You'd better come with us, or you'll be late," I said.

It looked up at me with its red eyes, a characteristic trait of white rabbits. Suddenly, there was a popping sound and the rabbit exploded in white smoke. I yelped and suddenly a little boy was standing in front of me.

He had white hair, extremely fair skin, and gold glasses that were far too small for him. He wore the same ratty red waistcoat and black shorts that the rabbit was wearing, and around his neck he had the gold pocket watch. He also had buck teeth.

And when he continued staring at me, I noticed that his eyes were red.

"Um…what?" I asked, staring in confusion.

"I'm the white rabbit," he mumbled, embarrassed. "My name is Raymond White. I turn into a rabbit whenever I'm late."

"That's weird," I said, then looked at him in worry, thinking that I'd offended him.

Raymond shrugged. "We're all weird here. You'll figure that out soon. Now, if you don't mind, if we linger here for much longer I fear that I'll turn into a rabbit again, and let me tell you that it's not exactly pleasant."

With that, he began walking down the path that the other Possibles and the Duchess had departed along.

I shook my head and prayed that I woke up soon.

* * *

Sorry I haven't updated in...um...forever? Yeah, things have been busy. I'll most likely be focusing on this story the most. Sorry again. Really sorry. SUPER SORRY!!! Anyway, I have a good feeling about this story. It's like my own version of Wonderland. So...Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then PM me or review! Till next time!

~Ki


	2. Her Majesty the Queen of Hearts

_**Wonderland Incorporated**_

Allyson Munn is perfectly ordinary. At least, that's what she thought. Then she and two hundred other girls were transported to the fantastical world of Wonderland. But all isn't as wonderful as it seems. Something is wrong with the Queen, and Allyson is the only one who can save her--and Wonderland!

* * *

**Her Majesty the Queen of Hearts | 2**

Wonderland was truly beautiful, even if it was probably a dream. The grass was lush and green with flowers sprouting everywhere. The sky was a clear blue and there were trees now and then. Birds sang their songs—with actual words—in the trees and as they swooped through the sky.

As we continued walking, I spied a structure that sparkled like crystals in the distance. The building had many spires stretching toward the sky, as if determined to scrape the top. It was a mixture of Victorian and Gothic architecture.

"What's that?" I asked Raymond, pointing at the building.

"That's Wonderland Castle," he said excitedly. "It was built three thousand years ago. It's built of stone and crystal. The first Queen of Wonderland decreed it to be built and it wasn't finished until the fifteenth Queen."

"You know a lot," I said, smiling.

He pushed his glasses up his nose, a nervous habit it seemed. He also stared at the ground when he spoke.

"When I was little I used to want to be a scribe."

"Why don't you want to be now?" I asked.

"Because I'm the Joker," he answered, looking downcast.

"I don't know what that means," I reminded him.

"Well, in Wonderland there are two armies. The Queen's Own Army is the elite army, the chess pieces. You'll see them around the castle. The other army is the Suit, and it's made up of cards. Your ranking is determined by the stickers on your helmet. One Wonder sticker means you're a One. Two Wonder stickers mean that you're a Two. Two Wonder stickers and a Diamond mean you're a Three. Two—"

"Okay, and you're the Joker?" I said, not wanting a lecture on the rankings of the Suit.

"Yeah. The Joker doesn't have any stickers. I'm a servant to the Suit, and it's my fate to be that way forever," he replied.

"That's not fair!" I exclaimed.

"It's better than being _her_ servant," he said darkly, looking at the figure of Duchess Danette.

"Who's her servant?" I asked warily, not sure if I wanted to know.

"You'll meet him soon enough," he replied, smiling up at me.

We walked in silence for a while. I looked around at the landscape and spied the village. As we came to the top of a hill, I could see that the castle was in the center of a sprawling village.

I cleared my throat, breaking the silence. "So what do the stickers mean?" I asked.

"Well, it goes from Joker to Ace, and we have a One card and no Jacks, Kings, or Queens. The stickers start from the poorest Wonderland family to the richest. So it goes Wonder, Diamond, Club, Heart, and then Spade.

"Once you get two of the same, you go up to the next symbol. The Tens are the highest ranking, other than the Ace, and they have two of every sticker. There are only three Tens, and there are only five Nines. There's supposed to be only one Ace, but we have two. They're twins and are pretty much like the same person. Anyway, when you're the Ace you have the Symbol of Wonderland on your helmet."

"What's the Symbol of Wonderland?" I asked.

"That's the Symbol." He pointed up at the sky and I gasped.

At the tip of the tallest spire was a golden symbol. It was circular, and divided into four sections. Each section had either a diamond, heart, spade, or club. In the middle was a W, and on the tip of the middle point of the W was a star.

It was the symbol of the Wonderland Incorporated business back in my world.

"Wait…what's a Wonder?" I asked, suddenly realizing that there was no such thing as the Wonder suit.

"One of the five royal families. The Wonder family is even poorer than the Diamonds. Their symbol is a star. Actually, the first Queen was a Wonder. Back then the family was even more powerful than the Spades." His voice sounded like he was in awe of this impossible feat.

At my quizzical look, he replied, "The Spades and the Hearts are the most powerful royal families. They're the largest and have the most children. You see, the more children you have then you have a larger chance of one of the kids becoming the Heir."

"Oh." I nodded. That made sense, but having babies so you could be royalty didn't sit well with me.

"Well, I'd better go. I might be late otherwise." He waved as he left, running off down one of the roads.

The castle was looming in front of us, and the rest of the Possibles had gone silent in awe. I caught up with Dinah and walked silently beside her.

We all walked into the castle, through the massive wooden doors. Duchess Danette led us into the Grand Hall and we gazed around in wonder at the portraits of every Queen there ever was.

"Don't let your feet slow now, Possibles," she said sharply. We snapped to attention and walked through the doors held open by men in black uniforms and helmets. I counted their stickers. They were Sixes.

All two hundred of us stopped before another set of doors. Duchess Danette whispered in the ear of a herald. The man nodded and slipped through the doors.

Vaguely, I could hear him introducing us.

"Now, ladies, you are about to meet the Her Majesty, Her Highness, Her Extraordinary the Queen of Hearts, ruler of all Wonderland. _Do…not…speak…unless…spoken…to_," she said through gritted teeth. "No need to lose your heads on the first day."

The doors opened and we filed through into what must've been the throne room. It had a high vaulted ceiling and was decorated lavishly in red and hearts.

I craned my neck around to get a view of the Queen and stared when I saw her.

She was extraordinarily beautiful. Her hair was the fullest read I'd ever seen, pulled back into a bun. Her skin was white as porcelain, and she had a small black heart tattoo on her left cheek. She wore a beautiful Victorian dress (much better than the Duchess's) that was decorated in hearts. In her hands she held a golden staff with a red heart on top of it.

The most captivating thing about her, however, was not how she seemed to radiate youth and beauty. It was her fierce, hawk like gaze. Her eyes were a molten brown-gold and she seemed to stare right through us.

The room was silent. The Queen lifted her chin up off of her hand and sat up, eyeing us.

"What are _these_?" she asked in disgust, her voice sharp.

"These are the Possibles, Majesty," Duchess Danette replied.

"Get them out of my sight. I want them out of my castle. I still have my Sight, I am still fifteen," she said.

"Highness, you were fifteen five years ago," she replied.

The Queen slammed her staff on the ground as she stood up with a flourish. "I am the greatest Queen that ever lived!" she declared. "That is why I haven't aged. Wonderland itself wants me to stay its Queen!"

"Technically, though, you are twenty," the Duchess reminded her.

"I—do—not—care!" she shouted.

I stared in shock. How could someone so beautiful be so…_rotten_?! She was acting like a spoiled, narcissistic brat! _This_ was the almighty Queen of Wonderland? I wanted to spit in her face!

"Off with their heads!" the Queen exclaimed, making a gesture with her hand as if shooing a bothersome gnat.

"Fairah, please—" the King started.

"Be _quiet_ Darius!" she screamed at him.

"Yes dearest," he replied, bowing his head.

I looked at the King of Hearts. His expression was stoic. He was very handsome, and he too seemed to be fifteen as well. His hair was black and his eyes were brown. I felt deeply sorry for him, to have to be married to that spoiled brat, but he just stared at his wife with worry in his eyes.

"Majesty, please be reasonable," Duchess Danette said.

"I want their heads to roll! This is treason! Treason!" she declared, sitting back down.

"I understand your anxiety, my liege," Duchess said, laying a reassuring hand on the Queen's arm. "But I was told by Professor Caito that we must bring in the Possibles."

"Off with his head!"

"Now, now, don't be rash. You might not be aging just because there isn't an Heir. What if we schooled these Possibles for a year like it's supposed to be, but if you haven't aged by the Wonderland Ball then there will be no Heir, and you shall be Queen forever," Duchess Danette suggested.

The Queen stood up. "Here now, I've just had a fabulous idea!"

"Do tell us, dear," the Duchess said.

"We'll school the little Possibles—" She sneered at us. "—but if I haven't aged by the Wonderland Ball, then I shall be Queen forever! And at that time, I never want to hear the words 'Possible' or 'Heir' ever again," she snarled.

"It shall be proclaimed at once." Duchess Danette snapped her fingers and the herald left the room immediately.

"Novel idea, my love," the Kind said.

"I do believe I told you to be quiet," she replied testily. He nodded and fell silent again.

My heart broke for him. He obviously loved her very much.

"Read the list and make it snappy," she said, obviously bored now that her tantrum was over.

"As I read your names, line up in front of Her Highness. Be quick about it," the Duchess said to us, then pulled a scroll out of her dress. She unrolled it and it went to the floor and to the other end of the room.

"Patricia Blake, now Patricia Heart!"

Patricia Blake straightened up and walked to the front of the room. I squinted at her face and saw that there was a small, black tattoo of a heart on her left cheek.

The Duchess continued down the list, saying name after name. You had to listen well otherwise you wouldn't hear over the shuffling of the Possibles as they made their way to the line.

"Dinah Lee, now Dinah Diamond!"

"Bye," she whispered to me, walking to where the second line was beginning.

Now I knew why we all suddenly had tiny tattoos on our cheeks. They were symbols of our lineage, our membership to the royal families. I suppose it was so people couldn't lie and say they were royalty when they weren't.

The crowd of Possibles was rapidly diminishing as we went to stand in front of the royal brat and her too kind husband. And, slowly, I was beginning to realize that this wasn't one of my dreams. It was very, very real.

"Allyson Munn…"

I tensed; my body froze as I waited to find out which family I was from. Maybe I was one of the Spades, one of the most powerful families. Or maybe I was a Diamond like Dinah.

Duchess Danette stared at the paper, squinting until her eyes seemed to disappear in her wrinkles. Then she rubbed her eyes and read it again.

The Queen cleared her throat menacingly, and the Duchess read my name again.

"Allyson Munn, now Allyson Wonder," she said.

Wonder. I was a Wonder. A member of the poorest royal family in all of Wonderland. Slowly, I began moving toward the third line.

"_What?!_" the Queen shrieked, exploding out of her chair. She stormed down the platform that the two thrones stood on. The Possibles scattered out of her way, breaking the lines.

She was headed straight for me, an evil look on her face. Fire was in her eyes. I wanted to run, but I couldn't. I was trapped, ensnared by her gaze. The Queen was going to kill me, I was sure.

She grabbed my shoulders and shook me back and forth as she screamed in my face. I heard Dinah let out a small shout that was cut off by somebody clapping a hand over her mouth.

"Impossible! She doesn't exist! I want head dead! Off with her head! I want her head mounted on my wall! I want her head to be sawed off with a spoon! Chop it off with the dullest blade in my kingdom! Let it roll through the streets as the people cheer for her death!"

"Fairah!" the King yelled. "Dearest, stop!"

I was getting nauseous. I could barely breathe, and I was sure to get whiplash if she kept throwing my body back and forth like a rag doll.

Suddenly, the Queen stopped and let go of me. I fell to my knees, holding my neck in pain as tears blurred in my eyes.

"That is enough, your grace," Duchess Danette said. "Remember your idea."

"Of course," she replied, calm and cold again. She picked her staff up off the ground and glared at me before walking back to her throne.

The King cast her a worried glance, and then sat back down.

"Back to your lines!" the Duchess barked. We scattered around, and one Possible with brilliant blue eyes helped me to my feet, then ushered me to my line.

I stood in a daze, staring at the heart pattern beneath my feet. I didn't dare look up, because I knew that the Queen's piercing eyes were staring straight at me.

* * *

And here's chapter two! Happy New Year! Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then PM me or review! Till next time!

~Ki


	3. A Looking Glass, a Boy, and a Knave

**_Wonderland Incorporated_**

Allyson Munn is perfectly ordinary. At least, that's what she thought. Then she and two hundred other girls were transported to the fantastical world of Wonderland. But all isn't as wonderful as it seems. Something is wrong with the Queen, and Allyson is the only one who can save her--and Wonderland!

* * *

**A Looking Glass, a Boy, and a Knave | 3**

I didn't talk after that. Dinah understood my silence (Bless her heart) and didn't ask me anything. The other Possibles whispered about me, however. I could hear them.

"What's a Wonder?"

"She's the only one."

"Why did the Queen want to kill her?"

"I hope she dies."

"Girls!" Duchess Danette shouted at us. "Bow to your Queen and apologize for taking up her time!"

We all bowed deeply and mumbled some sort of an apology. Then we straightened up again. I glanced up and instantly regretted it. The Queen was still staring at me with a cold fury in her gaze.

"Get out of here," she said simply.

"Move those legs! Get on with it!" Duchess Danette ushered. We all exited the throne room and walked back into the Grand Hall. Everybody was silent and there was a sober air about us.

"Alright, girls, time to lay down the rules. Never speak to the Queen or anybody else above your status unless spoken to. Never talk back to anybody above your status. Never speak slander about the Queen or Wonderland. You will have lessons six days a week from six in the morning to five in the evening. You will _not_ be late. Professor Caito and I certainly have better things to do than school you monkeys."

She glared at us. I just blinked and stared at the red carpeted floor. I was still in a daze.

"Curfew is at ten. Your rooms will be locked at ten and will not be unlocked until five in the morning the next day. Therefore, if you are late to curfew there's no way to get back in. Dinner is served at six every evening in the minor dining hall. Do not be late. If you are asked to do a chore or a task, do not refuse. You are not allowed outside the castle walls unless it is on a class excursion. You must wear your uniform at all times except when you're sleeping. Please wear your provided nightwear at that time; we don't want to see you all wrinkly."

_'She's one to talk,'_ I thought sourly, thinking of her wrinkled skin.

"The only other exception is at formal events. Dresses will be provided except for at the Wonderland Ball. If you are caught breaking any of these rules, or are failing in your classes, you _will be ejected from the program_. Your memory of Wonderland will be wiped and you will be sent back home. Clear enough?" She looked at us.

One girl raised her hand. Duchess Danette raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, dear?"

"I, like, totally can't get any service," the girl said in a total valley girl voice, pulling out her cell phone.

"Electronics from your world will not work here." The girl let out a horrified gasp. "I suggest putting them all in this bucket." She gestured to the large, blue plastic bucket that appeared out of nowhere.

"Not now!" she snapped when we all started rushing forward. "You can leave your electronic belongings here after you get your room assignments. Everybody will share a room and there shall be no more and no less than three people per room."

"Wanna share a room with me?" Dinah asked.

"Yeah, thanks." I smiled and nodded, then looked around for a third person.

Then I noticed that nobody was standing next to us. There was a gap around us, like people didn't want to stand too close to the person the Queen wanted to kill and her friend.

"I'll room with you."

I looked up into the fantastically blue eyes of the girl that had helped me out after the Queen's, er, _episode_. On her cheek was a spade.

"Clementine Da—Spade," she said, holding out a hand. "Call me Clem."

"Allyson Wonder," I replied, taking her hand.

"Dinah Diamond!" Dinah chirped.

The three of us laughed and then the Duchess cleared her throat, stopping all the chatter.

"Line up in your trios in front of me, then tell me your names and I will tell you your room number."

The process was long, mostly because Patricia Heart was so popular she couldn't pick two roomies and Duchess Danette seemed to be hard of hearing. After that we had to proceed up to the fifth floor of the castle, which held all of the guest bedrooms. The entire west wing was designated for Possibles. Then we had to walk around with the group while they found their rooms.

Over all, it took four hours.

"My feet hurt so badly," Clem complained as we walked into our room.

"Mine too," Dinah said.

"Me three," I added.

I took a look around the room. It wasn't very wide, but it was long. On the right side were three twin beds. Across from the beds were three small dressers. At the back of the room was a door to the bathroom and a large desk with three chairs. The room was decorated in neutral beiges and whites.

"Quaint," Clem noted.

I looked at the beds and took notice of the patterns on the bed sheets. The one closest to the door had stars on it, the middle had spades, and the far bed has diamonds.

"I guess our beds are already assigned," I said.

"Clem, do you mind if we switch beds?" Dinah asked. "I just feel more comfortable sleeping between two people."

"No problem, just help me with the—" She stopped and we stared.

The sheets from the two beds lifted up and switched. Then the beds made themselves, and it was as if nothing had happened.

"Freaky," we said at the same time, then started laughing.

"We'd better get our uniforms on," I said. "Dinner starts in half an hour."

"Where are they?" Clem asked.

"There."

We looked to where Dinah was pointing, and then saw a blue dress with black Victorian boots and white tights folded neatly on each of our beds.

"This place is really weird," I said, shaking my head. The other two agreed with me, and then we changed into our uniforms.

The dresses were a pretty navy blue and fit perfectly. They had short, puffy sleeves and a flattering neckline. They were very tight on the torso because they had to be tied since it was a corset. The hem of the dresses went a little ways past our knees. The blue fabric split at our waists, showing the white fabric beneath.

The boots were extremely uncomfortable. If you ever want to try on Victorian boots, I don't recommend it at all.

"Well, now that we're all looking rather spiffy, I say that we find our way to the minor dining room," Clem suggested.

I nodded, and we left our room. With some excellent directions from a passing servant, we reached the minor dining room with five minutes to spare. To our initial horror, there was a sign saying that we had to be in the main dining room for tonight only. Thankfully, it was only across the hall.

I kept my head down, since at the head of the table were the Queen and King, and I could already feel her eyes locked onto me. Our designated seats were on the right side of the table. Miraculously, all two hundred Possibles fit on the one side. One the other side sat the lords and ladies, dukes and duchesses. On the end opposite the Queen and King sat Duchess Danette and an extremely unpleasant looking man with a hooked nose.

Dinner was a quiet affair, and I didn't dare speak in front of the Queen or the Duchess for fear of breaking one of the rules. We were excused by the Queen when everybody had finished eating, and the Possibles hurried back to their rooms.

"She didn't stop staring at you once," Clem said. "I wonder why she hates you."

"Yeah, 'wonder'," I muttered. "Maybe she hates the Wonders."

"Whatever it is, I'd try my best to stay out of her way if I were you."

I nodded. "Yeah, a low profile sounds really nice right now."

Once back in our room, we changed into our nightwear, which simply consisted of a black sleeping mask and a white nightgown. Dinah went straight to bed, followed by Clem.

"I'll go to bed in a bit. I just want to go to the bathroom," I told her. She brushed her brown hair out of her face and nodded, then turned out the light on her bedside table.

I walked into the bathroom and shut the door, sitting on the lid of the toilet. Maybe if I went to bed and closed my eyes, the dream would end. But I knew it wouldn't. This was real. If anything was going to break me out of this bizarre dream, it would've been the Queen's assault on me. Besides, it was just too vivid. No dreams were this real.

I splashed face with icy cold water to try and get rid of the red, puffiness of my eyes. I hated crying. Once my eyes looked normal again, I stared at my reflection. There it was, on my left cheek: a tiny, black star.

I reached out and touched the image of the star in the mirror. When I tried to pull my fingers back, however, I couldn't. My fingertips were stuck to the surface of the glass. I thought about yelling for help, but it was past curfew and everybody was supposed to be asleep. I didn't want to get in trouble.

Then my hand began getting pulled into the mirror. I gritted my teeth in order not to scream, but it was sucking me in. When I pulled back, it pulled harder. The mirror was relentless. I pulled back again, bracing myself against the counter. My arm came out a little bit, but it was covered in silver and I saw my reflection when I stared at it.

I stopped resisting then, my body numb with shock and fear. The mirror pulled me completely in.

For a moment, I was falling in complete blackness. It was like being in the rabbit hole again: I wasn't scared. Then I popped out of a hand mirror and landed on the rocky ground.

"Ow!" I yelped.

"Hm, you're not as pretty as I thought you'd be," a voice said from behind me.

"I'll scream," I said as I stood up. I couldn't see a thing in the darkness however.

"That's fine. Nobody but me will hear you. And if they did, then you'd be in trouble for breaking curfew. Then that would ruin our plan and Wonderland will be ruled by that wretched Queen forever." The voice was definitely male.

"Who are you? What's your plan?" I asked.

"All will be revealed in due time, Allyson Wonder," the man replied.

"How do you know who I am?"

He chuckled and I glared the best I could at the outline of ise figure. My eyes were slowly adjusting to the darkness.

"Everybody knows who you are. You're a Wonder," he answered.

"Are there other Wonders here? I'm the only Wonder in the Possibles—"

"You're the only Wonder in the entire universe," he cut in.

I stopped cold. "What happened to my family?"

"Nobody knows. But that's what we're going to find out."

"How did I get here?" I asked.

"Through a looking glass. You really must pay more attention. I enchanted it while you were at dinner. That's illegal, by the way, enchanting mirrors without permission." He sounded proud of it.

"Great," I muttered.

He grabbed my arm and began walking quickly down the stone passage. "Come on, we don't have much time."

"Where are we?"

"A secret passageway, duh. Where did you think we were?"

"I don't like your tone, mister," I snapped. "In case you hadn't noticed, I don't know anything about Wonderland."

"No, I hadn't," he replied sarcastically. "You're obviously not the brightest, either."

"Where are we going?"

"The dungeons. You sure ask a lot of questions."

"Why are you taking me?" I asked.

"Because you're our only hope," he replied.

"What are you talking about?!"

He stopped walking suddenly, and grabbed my shoulders. Our faces were only inches apart, and I instinctively blushed. I was glad of the darkness in that moment.

My eyes had adjusted enough that I could see his eyes were blue and his hair was messy and brown. He was wearing some sort of uniform, but I couldn't tell exactly.

"Look, I can't tell you too much or it'll be dangerous. So stop asking questions. I'll tell you what I can. I'm part of a group that's trying to find out what's wrong with the Queen. You don't buy her story of Wonderland wanting her to be Queen forever, do you?"

I shook my head.

"Good, because that's not how Wonderland works. The first Queen herself made the law that no Queen would be Queen forever. So obviously, something's wrong. But, of course, we would be beheaded for treason if we were found out. You're important because of a prophecy made long ago. I don't know it, so don't ask. Now, we have somebody who should know what's up with the Queen, but, he's kind of…mad."

"What's he mad about?" I asked.

"No, not _mad_, but…mad. Insane. Crazy. Not all there in the head. He only talks to a stuffed rabbit called March, and that's only stuff about unbirthdays and tea time. Nothing important."

"Unbirthdays?" I repeated.

"Later, later," he said impatiently, and began walking.

I fell into an angry silence as I walked behind him. He was awfully infuriating, and talked really quickly. Half of what he said didn't make sense, and half of it I didn't hear.

"Quiet now, I have to check for guards."

He disappeared somehow and I leaned against the cold, stone wall. I could escape right then, but I didn't know where we were, anyway. My only option was to wait.

"Alright come on."

A hand was sticking out the wall in front of me. I stared in shock. It beckoned with annoyance.

"Come on! Take my hand!" he said, his voice coming from the other side of the wall.

I swallowed my fear and grabbed his hand. He pulled me through the wall and I stumbled through, landing in his arms. He chuckled and looked down at me. I glared up at him and pushed him away.

"Stubborn little thing, aren't you?" he asked.

"Who are you?" I asked.

He ignored me and dragged me along again. We were walking in a black stone hall now, with torches on the walls. It was dark and creepy compared to the rest of the castle.

"Are we going to see the person?" I asked him.

"Yes, yes we are. We believe that you're the only one who will be able to make a breakthrough," he whispered.

Up ahead I could see a small cage. A grated hole in the ceiling was letting moonlight shine down on a little boy who was sitting on a stool.

The boy had blonde hair and wore a dilapidated top hat that was so big on him that it covered his eyes. His skin was ghostly pale and he looked gaunt and skeleton-like. He had black clothing and chains were around his ankles. He was hunched over, and his hands clutched a brown toy rabbit with a torn arm and ear.

"Allyson Wonder, meet Maddox Hatter," the man said when we were by the cage. The boy raised his head and pushed the hat up off of his eyes. Around his neck he had a cord with a card that red "10/6".

"Mad? It's me again. This little lady here is the only living Wonder," he said to the boy. "She and I are going to visit you and talk to you from now on."

"What?!" I hissed at him, but he raised a finger to his lips and gestured to Maddox.

"Talk to him."

I cleared my throat, and then looked at the lonely little boy. "Maddox? My name is Allyson. Allyson Wonder."

He stared at me with a blank expression.

"That's a nice hat you have," I said.

Something flickered in his eyes as he reached up and touched the brim of his hat.

"Do you like it?"

A pause, then he nodded. Beside me, I heard a sharp intake of breath from the man. He nudged me to continue.

"I like it," I said lamely, at a loss as to what to say.

No response came from him.

"We have to go," the man whispered.

"Is it alright if I come again?" I asked.

Maddox nodded.

"Alright, little man. We'll be back soon." The man grabbed my arm and we began to turn around.

"Wait!" The boy's voice echoed in the empty dungeons.

We turned back around. The mysterious stranger was shaking with excitement.

"Yeah, Mad? What is it?" he asked.

The boy stared at me. It was silent for a while. Then he asked, "Why is a raven like a writing desk?"

I stared back at him. A raven and a writing desk?!

"I…I don't know," I replied.

Maddox looked downcast, and then hunched back over as the hat slid over his eyes again.

The man and I swiftly walked away, then slipped through the wall back into the passage.

"That was great! He's never nodded before! _He's never even spoken!_ I knew you were the one. I knew it! Wait 'til I tell the others. Oh, this is great!" he gushed.

I was silent. How could they keep such a young boy in a dungeon? What had he done to deserve that? As the man said, he probably knew something about the Queen's condition. But he couldn't be any older than Raymond! And Raymond was probably only ten.

"Hey, are you listening?!"

I broke out of my reverie. "Oh, sorry, no. I was thinking about Maddox."

"Charmed ya, didn't he? He's a heart snatcher. All the girls want to cuddle him, it's kind of funny." I could hear the grin in his voice. "Anyway, I was saying about how all we need to do is get you to talk to him more. I'm certain he likes you. You've got some sort of maternal air about you."

"The only pet I've ever had was a hamster. It died in a day," I said dryly.

He paused. "Yes, well, good thing he's not a hamster! Besides, you're a girl."

"Thanks for noticing," I muttered.

"All girls are good at mothering," he finished.

"So what do I do now?" I asked.

"Isn't it obvious? Find how why a raven is like a writing desk!"

I sighed. It was probably easier said than done. He'd started talking again, and I had to focus in order not to get lost.

"—on the third floor, you can get all your books there. It's pretty impressive, actually. It has four times more books than any library from your world. Just talk to the librarian to find the riddle books. She'll be glad to help you. She's my aunt, actually. I think." He paused, then shrugged. "I dunno. Family history is too confusing."

He continued rambling on until he suddenly stopped walking and faced me. He pulled out the hand mirror from earlier and another one.

"Here. This is so I don't have to enchant your bathroom anymore. It would be bad if one of your roommates got pulled through. These two are linked, so you'll always come through mine. Don't use it unless I tell you to, or it's an emergency. If you even touch the surface, you won't be able to go back, so here's a cloth to wrap it in."

"Thanks," I said, putting it in the red cloth he gave me. "Who are you?"

He sighed, chuckling at the same time. "You really are stubborn. Anyway, I'm the Knave of Hearts."

He grabbed my hand and made me touch his mirror. I got one last look at him, and, sure enough, I spied a small black heart on his left cheek.

* * *

And there you have it, chapter three!!! I would like to thank Les14 and James Birdsong for the reviews. THANKS!!! Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then PM me or review! Till next time!

~Kicon


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